Celebration of the 50-Year Anniversary of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Division of Lung Diseases: A Half-Century of Landmark Clinical Trials

Abstract

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)-National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's (NHLBI) Division of Lung Diseases is celebrating its 50th anniversary. On this occasion, we are reviewing the major landmark clinical trials that were initiated by the NHLBI's Division of Lung Disease and that have had substantial impact on our understanding of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and how it is best treated. Although some of these trials did not show hypothesized treatment benefits for COPD, they have enabled clinicians to provide care for individuals with COPD relying on the most rigorous evidence. The 5 trials that are reviewed here are: the Intermittent Positive Pressure Breathing Trial, the Nocturnal Oxygen Treatment Trial, the Lung Health Study, the National Emphysema Treatment Trial, and the Long-term Oxygen Treatment Trial. These clinical trials have not only set the standards for COPD care but have served as models for the state-of-the-art conduct of clinical research in COPD.

Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; clinical trials; copd; lung volume reduction surgery; oxygen therapy; positive pressure breathing; smoking cessation.